The Chosen: Well of Souls
October 3,2007 - Diablo was a cult classic which, in its incarnation into Diablo 2 at a later date, quickly gained widespread popularity as an action RPG and redefine said genre. Many clones attempted to copy Diablo 2's style of play over the years, with Titan Quest meeting some success as it attempted to increase the complexity of the genre – more skills, trees, leveling options, classes, and the like. But is complexity always a good thing? Rebelmind seems to think not, as their new title “The Chosen: Well of Souls” betrays a desire to return to the basics of action RPG-ing, and simplify the character leveling and gameplay of these games into an even more arcade-like experience than previous titles.

One of the more important attributes of any RPG is storyline and it is unfortunately the area The Chosen falls somewhat short. Though it is well written and in most places well translated, there are scant bits of poor translation, and even at least one area where translation is ignored (though this is in the user interface of the game). As well, the storyline is somewhat stereotypical for the genre, though one could expect as much from a game which can clearly trace its inspirational roots back to Diablo.

Despite some of the similarities to old games, The Chosen manages to be entirely fresh, and gameplay and character leveling are unique, though simplified. Characters can learn or do almost anything as long as you are willing to invest the stats in the appropriate areas as you level up, and starting class really only affects your starting spells and stats. Additionally, all three character types (yes, there are only three – a ranged fighter, a mage, and a fighter) take skills from the same exact three trees. Two companions that can be summoned as you fight, an offensive ranged fighter known as the Neferkar, and a defensive tank known as the Golem, help to add some complexity to the tactics employed in the game, and despite the simplistic and open-ended character leveling, one can find a great many ways to fell opponents as they level up. Whether this simplicity in character development proves a strength or weakness will depend upon the player, but the gameplay itself, character development aside, is most definitely solid—if unfortunately contained within a rather short game for an RPG.

Some interesting differences between this title and some former action RPGs include the ability to travel to any NPC while in town by clicking on their portrait (all NPCs are displayed on-screen as if party members while in town). The Chosen also measures armor in ranges rather than definite values, making it so that both offensive and defensive scores are now BOTH a ranged set of numbers rolled randomly. This could have made defensive built characters potentially less powerful, but the high ranges of the defense rolls are large enough as to keep the game balanced for those who wish to play tanks. Another nice touch that will annoy some gamers while pleasing others is a simple matter of ammunition–weapons don't require it, so no more worrying about having arrows, bolts, bullets, or other ammunition on-hand with all your ranged equipment; this allows the ranged player to stop worrying about the small stuff, and get right into the action. Another important difference in The Chosen from other action RPG titles is the inability to respawn after death, meaning that unless you have a save point near your point of death or crash (and yes, it does occasionally crash), you are bound for some frustration; on the bright side though, you can save absolutely anywhere, and the game does auto-save at the beginning of each level. On a lighter note, the Chosen has a nifty ability to reserve items for a down payment of 10% of their cost – an invaluable ability for those who cannot yet afford that incredible Minigun of Deadly Strike they simply must have, yet know will disappear from shop when they leave town. Layaway is great, isn’t it?

The Chosen is definitely a pretty game, considering the low system requirements. Like Blizzard, Rebelmind seems to be able to squeeze every last bit of beauty out of what comparatively few resources the game requires. The developers not only made things look pretty, but they went to great efforts to make the game charming on a graphical level as much as any other. Much effort was put into this, and that is clear when the player comes upon the second stage—a forest–and finds that werewolves are hiding in the bushes, along with their friends. As the player explores further, he begins to realize that the werewolves are visible in the bushes, if only barely, if you look really... really close. Many developers would have been happy to spawn such foes when the player came near enough, but Rebelmind went to the effort of carefully placing each and every enemy in this stage into extremely well-camouflaged guerilla positions, giving the keen-eyed player an edge, and enhancing the graphical flare and gameplay of the game in one blow. It is this kind of attention to detail and the traveling of that extra mile in development that causes The Chosen to shine. And yet, for all of this, The Chosen's camera is somewhat awkward, and at times clips against buildings, causing camera instability. A little more time could have been spent on this, but given the attention to detail in other areas and high levels of customization for not only camera angle but for how to control the angle and zoom in the first place, it is forgivable.

In direct contrast to almost every other aspect of the game, voice acting in The Chosen is so poor that, frankly, the game deserves kudos for just how incredibly bad they managed to push the envelope of terrible. This one really ranks up there among even some of Capcom's worst, ladies and gentlemen. The redeeming quality in this is that the voice acting within the game is fairly minimal, though when it does come up, one can't help but chuckle at lines such as “Lead us, stranger!” said in the most terrible of inflexions.

In the end, The Chosen is a fun-filled frolic through a world of zombies, werewolves, swords, magic, miniguns, revolvers, and shields. Once you've had your fun running through a few levels with a six-shooter in one hand and a buckler in another, you might find yourself wondering how a game you had possibly never heard of before could be so satisfying. So go out and give The Chosen a try – if you can wipe the grime away, getting beyond the terrible voice acting and mediocre story, you'll find an extremely affordable, enjoyable, and worthy addition to the annals of action role play gaming.

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